[Genomic characterization of food-borne Listeria monocytogenes isolates from Nanshan district of Shenzhen during 2009-2019].

Objective: The study aims to investigate the characteristic baseline information about genetic lineages, drug-resistance genes, virulence genes and evolutionary relationships of food-borne Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) isolates from Nanshan district of Shenzhen. Methods: The whole genomes of 46 Lm isolates during 2009-2019 were extracted and sequenced (Illumina PE-150, 100×). The CLC Genomics Workbench 12.0 was used to assemble and align Lm genomes, analyze their housekeeping genes, drug-resistance genes and virulence genes, and construct a k-mer phylogenetic tree. Results: After assembly, all genomes satisfied analytical conditions (contigs N50>20 kb). The medians of GC content, gene count and gene size were 38.3%, 5 960 and 2 952 608 bp, respectively. Based on the Lm genomic reference database, the local k-mer phylogenetic tree had 14 clusters of which the genetic distance was wide. The 46 Lm isolates were classified as Lineage 1 (21), Lineage 2 (23) and Lineage 3 (2). The most common ST type of Lineage 1 was ST87, followed by ST3, ST59, ST224 and ST429, whereas the major ST types of Lineage 2 included ST8 and ST9, the rest being ST121, ST155, ST199, ST204 and ST321. However, Lineage 3 only had ST299. The part of Lm strains carried five drug-resistance genes, such as fosX (17), tetM (6), dfrG (4), catB3 (1) and mefA (1). Furthermore, all strains possessed nine virulence genes, including flaA, iap, actA, hly, mpl, prfA, plcA, plcB and inlB. Nevertheless, six isolates and three of them respectively carried the mutant inlA and inlJ, and other two isolates lacked inlC. Conclusion: The food-borne Lm isolates from Nanshan district of Shenzhen presented genetic and evolutionary diversity. Noted that the drug-resistant strains, which also owned abundant virulence genes with specific functions, could lead to serious infections, particularly those isolates from raw poultry and Flammulina velutipes. It was implied that the local region was at risk due to Listeriosis by food. This study offered reference for prevention, control and treatment of Lm infection to the Greater Bay Area.

[Evaluation of primary tinnitus with fine puretone test and estimate of the technique].

Objective:To evaluate the relative factors of the severity and characteristics of primary tinnitus patients with fine puretone test(FPT) by three kinds of octaves, and to estimate the clinical application of this technique.Method:All subjects(n=90, ears=108), diagnosed with primary tinnitus, were recruited during July 2017 to February 2018 from the out-patients of Nanfang Hospital. In the prospective design, the patients were randomly divided into group 1/3 octave(n=30, ears=35), group 1/12 octave(n=30, ears=37) and group 1/24 octave(n=30, ears=36). Then tinnitus handicap inventory(THI), FPT, time and degree of residual inhibition(RI), time and degree of hyposensitization test, time attenuation test of masking(TATM) were used for evaluating the diseased and healthy ear performed separately.Result:Eighty-six patients were taken THI. The severity of tinnitus was no significant correlation with the gender,ear,sleep time and working time(P>0.05),but positive correlation with age(r=0.274, P=0.011) and duration of tinnitus(r=0.239, P=0.026). The selfassessment loudness score(SALS)(r=0.542,P=0.000) and the visual analogue score(VAS)(r=0.529, P=0.000) showed a moderate positive correlation. In the 1/24 octave, except for the TATM of the diseased ear group, the results of other groups were statistically different from the 1/3 octave(P<0.05), and much suitable than the 1/3 octave. Moreover, the results showed that the time of RI in the left and diseased ear group, the time of HT in the right, left and diseased ear group, the degree of HT in the right ear group were statistically different from the 1/12 octave(P<0.05) respectively, and much suitable than the 1/12 octave. The 1/12 octave was only statistically different from the 1/3 octave in TATM of the diseased ear group(P<0.05), and much suitable than the 1/3 octave.Conclusion:This study shows that gender, ear, sleep time, and working time had no significant effect on the severity of tinnitus, the age and duration of tinnitus have certain effects on the severity of tinnitus, the SALS, VAS score and the severity of tinnitus are moderately positively correlated. The 1/24 octave is significantly much suitable than the 1/3 octave and the 1/12 octave. And the technique of FPT is beneficial to improve the reliability and accuracy of the tinnitus evaluation.

[Diagnosis and treatment of labyrinthine fistula caused by chronic otitis media].

Objective:To evaluate the clinical features diagnostic experience and the surgical management of labyrinthine fistula in chronic suppurative otitismedia.Method:Twenty-four cases(24 ears)of labyrinthine fistula caused by chronic suppurative otitis media that were treated from 2006 to 2013 were reviewed.The fistula test and temporal bone CT scan were performed before the operation, then compare the positive rates between them.In all of these cases, the lesion tissue of fistula is cleaned. Then the fistula was repair of through fascia sealing by temporal myofascial or mastoid periosteum in type Ⅰ and Ⅱ fistula.Semicircular canal occlusion was used in type Ⅲ fistula.Comparison of the effect of fistula typing on preoperative and postoperative hearing.Result:The fistulae were located at the lateral semicircular canal in 23 ears, at the lateral semicircular canal in 1 ears.Temporal bones was positive in 10 cases(41.66％) while fistula test was positive in 9 cases(37.5％). There was no statistically significant difference between the diagnosis of the labyrinthine fistula(P=0.50).The effect of fistula typing on postoperative auditory changes was not statistically significant (P=0.73).Conclusion:In the preoperative diagnosis of the fistula,the use of fistula test and CT scan simultaneously may increase the accuracy of the diagnostic. However the test results are not reliable when is negative results,intraoperative exploration is the most important method for the diagnosis of labyrinth fistula.Surgery should be based on the type of fistula,size,hearing levels and operation experience.

Use of a microvascular coupler device for end-to-side venous anastomosis in oral and maxillofacial reconstruction.

The aim of this study was to compare the use of a microvascular coupler device (MCD) for end-to-side venous anastomosis (ETS group) and phleboplasties combined with MCD for end-to-end venous anastomosis (ETE group) in free tissue transfer for oral and maxillofacial reconstruction, with regard to the anastomosis time and occurrence of postoperative vascular crisis. The ETS group included 22 patients and the ETE group included 40 patients. Patient demographic data, anastomotic time, coupler size, microvascular complications, and flap survival rates were collected and analyzed. In the ETS group, the most suitable donor vessel size was greater than 2mm, varying from 2mm to 4mm. The average anastomosis time was 3.35±0.89min in the ETS group and 7.80±2.93min in the ETE group; the difference between the groups was statistically significant (p<0.0001). There were no statistically significant differences in complications or outcomes between the two groups. The ETS venous anastomosis with MCD technique is a better choice for anastomosis when the donor vessel size is greater than 2mm. In those cases with mismatched veins, ETS venous anastomosis with MCD could significantly reduce the anastomosis time compared to ETE venous anastomosis with MCD after phleboplasties.

[Effect of melatonin on expression of Prestin protein in the inner ear of mice following radiotherapy].

Objective: To investigate the effect of melatonin on the expression of prestin protein in the inner ear of mice following a single dose radiation therapy, so as to provide the basis for the mechanism study of radiation induced inner ear injury and its prevention. Methods: Sixty 4-week-old male mice were randomly divided into six groups, including the control group (A group), 50 mg/kg MLT group (B group), 5 mg/kg MLT group (C group), 50 mg/kg MLT + radiotherapy group (D group), 5 mg/kg MLT+ radiotherapy group (E group), and 16 Gy radiotherapy group (F group). Each experimental group was randomly subdivided into two subgroups, which were killed to harvest the cochlea on the 3rd and 7th days following 16 Gy radiation. The specimens were used for immunostaining and Western blot to detect the expression of prestin protein. SPSS 19.0 software was used for statistical analysis. Results: Prestin protein mainly distributed in the lateral membrane above the outer hair cell nucleus. When compared with A, B and C group, the expression of prestin protein in the inner ear was significantly up-regulated in F group (P<0.05). However, D and E group reduced the abnormal expression of prestin following radiotherapy when compared with F group, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05), and the effect of D group was more significant than E group (P<0.05). Conclusions: The prestin protein of cochlea is mainly distributed in the lateral membrane above the outer hair cell nucleus. Following the high-dose radiotherapy, the prestin expression is upregulated, and melatonin can control the abnormal expression of prestin protein induced by radiotherapy with dose dependent.

Reconstruction of intraoral defects after resection of cancer with two types of submental artery perforator flaps.

The submental island flap is a common choice for reconstruction of intraoral defects. To obtain a thinner, more pliable flap and get a better oncological result, the submental artery perforator flap has been proposed, and to assess its feasibility for closure of defects after resection of cancers of the oral cavity we studied 20 patients, each of whom was treated in this way. All the flaps were classified into those with septocutaneous perforators (n=16) and those with musculocutaneous perforators (n=4), and the main veins that drained the flaps were two submental veins (n=17). There were two patterns of venous drainage: in pattern 1 (n=9) the external jugular vein provided the primary venous drainage, and in pattern 2, the submental veins drained mainly into the facial vein, the common facial vein, and the internal jugular (n=10). In one patient the submental veins bypassed the facial vein to drain into the internal jugular. Eighteen of the 20 patients had no postoperative complications. The remaining two developed mild venous congestion of the flaps, which was resolved with conservative management and no skin loss. No local or regional recurrence was detected after a mean (range) follow-up of 21 (4-35) months. This is a simple, reliable flap that can be used for the reconstruction of intraoral defects after resections for cancer, but its oncological outcome still requires proof in long-term, large-scale, clinical trials.

LncRNA MIAT enhances cardiac hypertrophy partly through sponging miR-150.

OBJECTIVE: In this work, we aimed to study whether myocardial infarction associated transcript (MIAT) exerts a regulative effect on cardiac hypertrophy via acting as a miR-150 sponge. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cardiac hypertrophy was induced using Angiotensin II (Ang II). MIAT and miR-150 expression were quantified using qRT-PCR. Rat heart-derived H9c2 cells were used as the in vitro model. Cardiac hypertrophic features were assessed by quantifying cardiac hypertrophic genes and measurement of cell surface, protein synthesis and total protein content. RESULTS: MIAT is significantly increased in Ang II induced cardiac hypertrophy in a mouse model and in H9c2 cells. MIAT siRNA substantially alleviated the Ang II induced upregulation of ANP, BNP and ß-MHC in H9c2 cells and markedly attenuated the Ang II induced increase of the cell surface area and the protein synthesis. MIAT overexpression in H9c2 cells significantly reduced the miR-150 expression. MIAT inhibition also partly restored the miR-150 levels under Ang II treatment. MiR-150 overexpression could attenuate the Ang II induced upregulation of hypertrophic marker genes and suppress the Ang II induced hypertrophic phenotypes of the cells. CONCLUSIONS: MIAT is significantly increased in Ang II induced cardiac hypertrophy and contributes to the pathological development. MIAT can suppress miR-150 expression in cardiomyocytes and miR-150 is a downstream effector of MIAT in the development of cardiac hypertrophy.

Risk factors for neonatal nosocomial enteric infection and the effect of intervention with BIFICO.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the risk factors for neonatal nosocomial enteric infection (NNEI) and the effect of intervention with BIFICO. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between May 2013 and June 2015, 215 neonates admitted to our institution were randomly divided into the study group and the control group, 47 for each group. Patients in the study group were treated for primary diseases combined with the oral admission of BIFICO, whereas patients in the control group were treated for primary disease alone. Statistical analysis was performed to obtain the occurrence of enteric infection and univariate, as well as multivariate analysis of clinical data, were performed to investigate the underlying risk factors. RESULTS: Univariate and multivariate analysis of variance showed that gestational age, birth weight, length of hospital stay, invasive procedures and underlying diseases were risk factors affecting NNEI. The occurrence of NNEI in the study group was significantly lower than that in the control group [17.02% (8/47) vs. 29.79% (14/47), X2 = 19.394, p = 0.004]. CONCLUSIONS: Preterm infant, low-birth-weight infant, length of hospital stay, invasive procedures and comorbidity are independent risk factors for NNEI. Prophylactic therapy with BIFICO can effectively decrease the occurrence of infections and can be widely used in clinical practice.

Antisymmetric resonant mode and negative refraction in double-ring resonators under normal-to-plane incidence.

Compared to metallic composite metamaterials of double split-ring resonators with wires, double-ring resonators without additional wires are simple to engineer. In this paper, we have numerically studied the transmittance of double split- and closed-ring resonators at normal-to-plane incidence and identified their fundamental resonance modes. It is found that the antisymmetric and symmetric resonance modes originate from the out-of-phase and in-phase oscillations of surface charges in the neighboring legs of the double-ring resonators, respectively. The coupling of the antiparallel induced currents in the neighboring legs gives rise to magnetic resonance and consequently negative permeability of the antisymmetric mode. The negative refraction transmission of the double-ring resonators at normal-to-plane incidence is verified by dispersion curve and wedge-shaped model simulations. Our study provides a route to negative refraction metamaterial design by using the antisymmetric resonance mode of the simple double-ring structure at normal-to-plane incidence which is of particular importance for the terahertz and infrared domain.

SPP-associated dual left-handed bands and field enhancement in metal-dielectric-metal metamaterial perforated by asymmetric cross hole arrays.

Dual-band left-handed transmissions in the near infrared frequencies through the metal-dielectric-metal metamaterial perforated with an array of asymmetric cross holes are demonstrated. It is shown that the left-handed bands originate from the SPP-associated magnetic response excited by different polarized light and their frequencies can be tuned by the arm's length or width of the cross-gaps. The structures are further optimized at 1.064 microm laser light excitation for elucidating the mechanism and possible application in surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy in sandwiched architectures. This study provides valuable information for the design of compact optical devices with dual left-handed bands in a single structure and may also pave the way toward stable and reproducible substrate design for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

A heterogeneous model for gas transport in carbon molecular sieves.

A dual resistance model with distribution of either barrier or pore diffusional activation energy is proposed in this work for gas transport in carbon molecular sieve (CMS) micropores. This is a novel approach in which the equilibrium is homogeneous, but the kinetics is heterogeneous. The model seems to provide a possible explanation for the concentration dependence of the thermodynamically corrected barrier and pore diffusion coefficients observed in previous studies from this laboratory on gas diffusion in CMS. The energy distribution is assumed to follow the gamma distribution function. It is shown that the energy distribution model can fully capture the behavior described by the empirical model established in earlier studies to account for the concentration dependence of thermodynamically corrected barrier and pore diffusion coefficients. A methodology is proposed for extracting energy distribution parameters, and it is further shown that the extracted energy distribution parameters can effectively predict integral uptake and column breakthrough profiles over a wide range of operating pressures.

[The application of computerized color composition technique on X-ray mammography in the diagnosis of breast cancer].

In this study, the authors present the results of color enhancement processing applied on 82 X-ray mammograms of 40 cases by Digital Color Composition Technique. It was found that, after the processing the image on the films was more clear, rich in details, and easier to compare with each other. By this technique, the structure and edge of the tumor were displayed more clearly than by common X-ray mammography, an advantage helping to distinguish benign tumors from the malignant, and misdiagnosis on the nature of the tumors was corrected in 6 cases. The technique was shown to be especially valuable in the diagnosis of a tumor less than 0.5 cm in diameter.

High-performance liquid chromatography of micelle-solubilized complexes-IV Reversed-phase ion-pair chromatography of metal-3,5-diBr-PADAP-Triton X-100 complexes.

The micellar solubilization complex systems of V(V), Cu(II), Zr(IV), Pd(II), Fe(III), Ni(II) and Co(II) with 3,5-diBr-PADAP and Triton X-100 have been investigated by HPLC on an ODS (5 x 250 mm) column with a ternary eluent of methanol-acetone-acetone-water containing TBA(+) and acetate buffer (pH 3.0) at 600 or 572 nm wavelength for the detection of the complexes. An HPLC-spectrophotometric method for determination of seven metal ions has been developed. The peak height calibration curves are linear up to 50-100 mu/1, metal ion concentration. The relative standard deviations for the determination of 30.0 mu/1 metal ion were 0.9-1.6% and the detection limits (S/N = 3) were 1.1-3.6 mug/1.

[Bone marrow necrosis and malignant tumors].

Twelve patients with bone marrow necrosis were diagnosed in our hospital during the past thirteen years. All were related to malignant tumors. Bone marrow metastatic carcinoma was diagnosed in 5, suspicious metastatic carcinoma in 3, acute leukemia in 2, chronic granulocytic leukemia in 1 and malignant histiocytosis in 1. In case 1, the necrosis was secondary to gastric cancer metastasis into the bone marrow and complicated by microangiopathic hemolytic anemia; in case 3, bone marrow necrosis was the initial manifestation and a diagnosis of acute lymphocytic leukemia was finally confirmed; in case 4 of acute monocytic leukemia, bone marrow necrosis followed intramedullary chemotherapy and in case 5, marrow necrosis was secondary to chronic granulocytic leukemia. These four manifestations mentioned above have not been reported yet at home. Three cases examined by systemic 99mTe bone scan suggest that 99mTe bone scan be useful in the diagnosis of marrow necrosis. In this paper, the causes, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and pathogenesis are discussed.